Sheep Rock Fire sparks in southern Utah, threatened power for nearly 11K people

BEAVER COUNTY, Utah ( ABC4 ) — A new fire was discovered in Beaver County on Tuesday — and officials with Rocky Mountain Power said infrastructure was being threatened by the fire, leading to nearly 11,000 customers losing power in southern Utah.

Rocky Mountain Power told ABC4.com that the fire was getting close to some of its infrastructure, including power substations. The threatened substations were powered down on Tuesday evening as a precaution, officials said.

As a result, nearly 11,000 customers were briefly left without power in areas including Beaver, Cedar City, and New Harmony on Tuesday evening. Initially, the outage had affected roughly 17,000 people, but some customers regained power shortly after the outage.

Rocky Mountain Power said there was no estimated time for power to return to all customers. After 7 p.m., power was restored for most customers, save for about 1500 people, according to the outage map for Rocky Mountain Power .

According to the Utah Wildfire Dashboard , the Sheep Rock Fire in Beaver County was first discovered around 3:45 p.m. on Tuesday. It was initially estimated at a size of about 25 acres, according to the dashboard.

Initial investigation determined the fire was human-caused, according to the wildfire dashboard.

How to prepare for a power outage

Whether the outage is planned or not, Rocky Mountain Power has offered some guidelines and tips to prepare for a power outage.

Safety and preparedness resources have been compiled by Rocky Mountain Power and can be found online .

Some items that Rocky Mountain Power suggests to keep in an emergency kit are listed below:

• Water
  • Have one gallon per person, per day
• Non-perishable food
  • For both people and pets
• First aid kit and essential medications
• Copies of important family documents
• Cash
• Blankets

Rocky Mountain Power’s comprehensive emergency preparedness list is available online .

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